


The Enchantress

by Forgotten_Peggy



Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Starkid
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, Time Travel, even we don't know why we wrote this so sorry if it's weird, mainly Hermione and Draco focused, too many Starkid and Shipwrecked references, we changed a few canon details from batb but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-13 13:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13571781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forgotten_Peggy/pseuds/Forgotten_Peggy
Summary: Years after losing the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco is hated by the entire Wizarding World, and is getting desperate for a plan to return to his former glory. He makes a plan ensure Hermione is never born, so she can't help Harry & co. defeat Voldemort - to go back in time and make sure her ancestors, Belle and Adam, never get together. When Hermione hears about this plan, she makes her own plan - to go back and stop him.Many thanks to my sister for helping me plan, edit, and remember stuff about/from the Harry Potter universe





	1. It's Not Over Yet (No One Remembers Malfoy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A lot of this chapter comes from the first scene of A Very Potter Sequel, so I don't own any of those parts. Also general disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter or Beauty and the Beast, nor do I claim to.)
> 
> Also just so you know, chapters will alternate between Draco and Hermione-focused.
> 
> All chapter titles will either be from Beauty and the Beast, or Starkid musicals :)

“You’re late,” Draco didn’t look up from his desk as he heard his office door open then close again.

“Late?” Goyle questioned. “What does it matter? We lost the war!” He plopped down onto one of the chairs in Draco's office.

“Calm down, Goyle,” Draco instructed.

“No! Why are we even meeting anyway? We lost the war, Lord Voldemort is dead, and Crabbe too; most of the Death Eaters are in Azkaban, and the rest had to go into hiding! There’s nothing left for us to do!”

“No!” Draco stood up, slamming his hands on the desk. “Don’t ever say that to me, and do not ever, ever, include me in whatever ‘us’ you’re referring to. You may have given up, but I will sooner die than give up the purpose of the Dark Lord,”

“But even your father-”

“Lucius Malfoy was a coward. He helped the Ministry capture hundreds of Death Eaters and then retreated. He betrayed all that he, the Dark Lord, and the Death Eaters, believed in. Lucius is not my father.” Draco took a deep breath and sat down again, pressing his fingers to his temple for a few seconds. “Did you get what I asked you to, or not?”

“Yeah, I had to break into the Ministry for it, but I got it,” Goyle said, handing the paper-wrapped package over.

Draco held the package in both of his hands, looking at it gleefully. “Excellent,” he commented, before unwrapping it like a child on Christmas morning.

“The Dark Lord is dead, why did you even want that?” Goyle asked as Draco held up the gold chain, admiring the time turner that hung on its’ end.

Draco tore his gaze from the time turner to glare at his friend. “Goyle, do you know what it means, now that I finally have a time turner?”

Goyle shook his head.

“Well, idiot, it means that I can go back in time, and make sure that the famous Mr Potter never defeats the Dark Lord,”

“How do you know that will even work? Even if you go back to his first year at Hogwarts, he’ll still probably beat you,” Goyle muttered.

“As much as I’d like to jelly-legs jinx you for saying that, your point is valid, but I had thought of that. Potter was able to succeed against us in our Hogwarts year, but only because of one thing: that Hermione Granger,”

“Oh I remember her, didn’t you have a cru-”

“Remember those records I had you steal the other week?” Draco cut Goyle off before he could bring up any unwanted memories of his Hogwarts years. It had been over three years since they graduated - he didn’t need to be reminded of his past feelings towards a certain frumpy, nerdy, filthy mudblood.

“The records of Hermione’s entire family history?”

“Yes, those records,” Draco said, exasperated. Almost every friend or follower that he’d had before the war was gone. They were all either dead, or had retreated, and now resented Draco because of his parents’ betrayals. All except Goyle, so Draco supposed that he had to keep him as a friend, as exasperating as he was.

The looks and comments Draco had received from the whole wizarding world after the war had been so humiliating that he had been forced into hiding. But now, he was going to make his comeback, by cutting off Hermione’s bloodline generations before she was even born, to ensure that never happened. Without Hermione, Harry would be killed in his first year, and if not then, then definitely in one of his later years. Not even his filthy ginger friends would be able to save him. With Potter gone, the Dark Lord’s horcruxes wouldn’t be destroyed, and his soul would be able to live on.

“Okay Goyle, fetch me my trunk,” instructed Draco, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

“What else is in there?” Goyle asked, placing the large trunk on Draco’s desk.

Draco placed the records into the trunk as he replied; “Just a few things - a couple of maps, my wand, my Zefron poster…” He closed the trunk.

“Wait, you’re going to-” Goyle seemed to just have caught onto Draco’s evil plan.

“Yes. Goodbye Goyle,”

Draco hung the gold chain around his neck, grabbed his trunk in one hand, and began to spin the time turner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to have 8 chapters and an epilogue, and I'll probably post about a chapter a day, depending on how busy I am (I did just start Year 12 so I'm pretty busy but I'll try)
> 
> The title of this also may change if I think of a better one


	2. This Could Mean Danger

“Hermione, I need to talk to you,” Ginny walked into Hermione’s office at the Ministry of Magic. “It’s important.”

“Ginny, what’s wrong?” Hermione stood up from her work, highly concerned for her friend. It wasn’t uncommon for Ginny to be around the Ministry since her, Ron, and especially Harry worked there. But, as calm as she may have seemed to most people, Hermione had known Ginny for long enough to know that something was definitely wrong.

“Hermione,” Ginny repeated. “You need to hear this, sit down,” she instructed. Ginny sat down as Hermione did as she was told, pushing her work aside. She usually hated interruptions while she was working, but Ginny seemed more distressed than Hermione had seen her since the war...

“Okay, now what’s wrong?” Asked Hermione.

“Well, I had the day off from training, so I was visiting Harry in the Ministry this morning, when I saw Goyle sneaking around. He was looking pretty suspicious, so I followed him,”

“Wow, Goyle, I haven’t heard that name in years,” Hermione commented. “Sorry, continue,”

“I saw him steal a time turner, and I was going to report him then, but then I thought, why would Goyle be stealing a time turner? He sure as hell can’t think for himself, so he must have been doing it for someone else. And who has Goyle been following for over ten years now?”

“Draco,” they said simultaneously.

“I don’t like where this is going,” said Hermione, before motioning Ginny to continue again.

“I realised that, so I followed him when he left, and I ended up at this house out in the suburbs, which I think must be Draco’s new lair. Anyway, I snuck inside, and hid until he went into Malfoy’s office. Then I listened in to their conversation… and it was not good, Hermione, it was not good,” Ginny paused.

“Tell me, Ginny,” Hermione prompted.

Ginny proceeded to tell Hermione everything that she overheard. She told her friend about Draco’s plan to cut off her’s bloodline before she could be born, all so Harry would be killed and Voldemort could live.

“I should spy on people more often,” Ginny commented nonchalantly, before seeing the mixed look of horror and fear on Hermione’s face. “Oh, right, I’m so sorry Hermione. I really wish I knew when or where he was going to, but he didn’t say,”

Hermione paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I know when he’s going,” Ginny looked confused, so Hermione continued. “Come on, we need to go back to my apartment,”

Five minutes later, Ginny watched as Hermione pulled open drawer after drawer, searching for who knows what.

“Ahh, found it!” Hermione exclaimed after a few minutes of searching. “Here,” she said, placing the file on the table, already flipping through the pages. “It’s my family’s whole history, records, everything,” she explained to a confused-looking Ginny. “Here it is!” The file lay open on one page, titled ‘1700-1800’.

“I’m so sorry, but what?”

“This was the generation of my family that’s talked about the most. My seventh-great grandparents - Belle and Adam. They lived in small-town France, no one would really notice if he went back and changed something. I don’t know how I know he’d go back then, but I just do. I can feel it,”

Ginny nodded. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I have to follow him,” Hermione said. “If he’s already gone, then I need to go as soon as possible, but,” she paused, “How do I tell Harry, and Ron?”

“Did somebody say Ron Weasley?” Ron chose that moment to enter his and Hermione’s apartment. “Oh, hey Ginny,” It wasn’t uncommon for Ginny to be at their apartment, so Ron wasn’t surprised. “Also, Harry’s here too,” Ron added.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Harry asked. “How do you tell us what?”

Hermione, for one of the first times in her twenty-one years of life, had no idea what to say.

Instead, Ginny spoke up, calmly explaining the whole situation to their boyfriends. “So, Hermione was asking me how she should tell you that she-”

“That I have to follow him,” Hermione cut Ginny off. She felt the need to be the one to tell the guys, especially Ron, that.

“No.” Was Ron’s first response. “Are you mental? This could mean danger – I can’t let you go, but at the very least, if you have to, then I can’t let you go alone,”

“Yeah, and as I remember a bright young witch once saying, you need us Hermione” Harry added, echoing her words from their sixth year at Hogwarts.

“And what about Teddy?” Hermione asked. “He needs you Harry, you’re all he’s got left. If you leave now, it’ll be selfish, not heroic.”

“You’re right.” Harry conceded.

“And Ron, if you come with me, it’ll make us more obvious. I can’t let Draco know that I, or anyone, have followed him. I have to go alone,”

“No-”

“Ron,” Hermione cut him off.

“Ron, she has to do this alone,” Ginny said softly. A conflicted look crossed Ron’s face, and Ginny took Harry’s hand, pulling him away, so Ron and Hermione could talk with somewhat more privacy.

“I’m sorry, but if I don’t do this, I won’t be the only one facing the consequences. We can’t risk Voldemort coming back,”

Ron, who had been looking at the floor in an attempt to hide any emotion, finally looked up to meet Hermione’s eyes.

“I’ll miss you,” his voice cracked a little, and it broke Hermione’s heart.

“I know. I’ll miss you too,” Hermione quickly kissed him on the lips. Pulling away, she looked towards Ginny and Harry. “I’ll miss all of you, I’m so sorry it has to be like this.”

Hermione grabbed her time turner and her wand, before facing her friends for what she very well knew could be the last time.

“Goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post the first two chapters at once so enjoy!


	3. Days in the Sun

“Come on, Adam, you can’t mope around forever!” The 12-year-old called to her friend.

A 15-year-old boy stepped out of the small house. “Belle, I would rather not go out,” he said.

“Adam,” Belle turned to face him. “I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since your parents died,” he winced as she spoke. “I know how much it hurts, they were like parents to me too, but you have to leave the house some time. Come on, it’s just a picnic.”

Belle was telling the truth when she said that she knew how much it hurt. She and Adam had been friends for as long as she could remember. Her father had told her that when they first moved to this town, after her mother’s death, he became close friends with Adam’s parents. Despite their differences, both were outsiders in the town, leading to their friendship. Because of this, whenever Maurice went away to an inventing fair, Belle would stay with Adam’s family in their mansion in the woods, ever since she was a baby. By the time Belle could walk, she and Adam were already friends, and they had been since.

Because of their close friendship, Adam’s parents had become like Belle’s second and third parents, which she appreciated, since she couldn’t remember her own mother. So, when they had gone to a neighbouring town, and not returned days after they were supposed to, Adam feared the worst. He had run the whole way from his mansion to Belle’s house, and stayed with them since. Now, Maurice, Belle and Adam had begun to accept the fact that his parents weren’t coming back. Belle was trying anything and everything to help her best and only friend find happiness again. At this stage, Adam hadn’t even gone back to his house, because he couldn’t bear to face it knowing that his parents would never return there.

Adam finally accepted Belle’s offer of a picnic, since she had seemed to work so hard to prepare it. They made their way to a hilltop; one that had in a way become ‘their’ hilltop after a thousand and one afternoons spent playing, or even just sitting there, often chatting for hours.

Belle lay out the picnic, and the two sat down, slipping into easy conversation as if nothing had ever changed.

“Did you hear about Anne and Charles?” Belle asked, referring to two townspeople who were only a few years older than Adam. Adam shook his head in the negative. “I heard that they’re engaged to be married, in only a few months!”

“Really?” Adam asked, pretending to be more interested than he was, for his friend’s sake.

“Yes,” Belle confirmed. “Wow, I’m not sure I ever want to get married, even though girls are supposed to want to, I guess…” she trailed off. “Who do you think you will get married to, in this town?”

Adam thought for a second. “I think I’ll marry you,” Belle froze, so Adam continued. “When we’re older, of course, but I’d much rather marry you than any of the other girls in this town,”

~~~

Draco had arrived a few days prior, knowing only the names of Hermione’s ancestors, and the town in which they resided. It had only taken him a day to find Belle and Adam, already staying in the same house. _Filthy muggles,_ he thought to himself.

He followed them for a few days, spying, and putting the final touches on his evil plan. As much as he hated himself for it, Belle looked too much like Hermione for Draco to hurt her. So, instead, he focused his plan on Adam, her seventh-great grandfather.

“I’d much rather marry you than any of the other girls in this town,” Draco overheard Adam say, and gagged a little in response.

Okay, time to put his plan into action. “Belle, come quick, it’s your father!” He called, ensuring he was out of sight of Belle and Adam.

“Who said that?” Belle questioned, looking around. “Sorry, Adam, I have to go,” Belle took off running down the hill, and Adam hesitated for a second before following her.

Luckily for Draco, he hesitated just long enough for Belle to be out of sight as he took out his wand, pointed it at Adam, and whispered “Petrificus Totalus,”

Adam fell to the ground, and Draco dragged his body into the woods, leaving him in a small clearing. Knowing that his plan would only work if he acted quickly, Draco left Adam there as he ran to what he now knew to be the house of Belle and her father. He knew that Belle would have immediately gone there. Looking through the window, he saw Belle and Maurice talking, and thankfully no one else with them. _Seems Granger’s family had been unpopular for centuries. Figures._

Draco stepped into their house, so that Belle and Maurice were standing with their backs to him. He took out his wand, pointing it at the father and daughter who stood before him. He had to ensure that no one remembered Adam.

“Obliviate,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the plot of this isn't too confusing, but any plot holes should be cleared up in the next few chapters :))))
> 
> Anyway, if you're reading this, I hope you're enjoying it so far, and I hope you have a great day/night! :)


	4. When The World's At Stake

Hermione landed in a small clearing in a patch of woods. Turning to her left, she could see a teenage boy laying on the ground, arms at his sides and legs snapped together, blinking but unmoving. Moving closer, she recognised him, from an old painting her grandmother kept - Adam. Hermione knew these effects well, she’d used the spell herself a few times while at Hogwarts.

Before Hermione could use the counter-curse to free Adam, she heard footsteps, so quickly retreated back into the woods. From behind a tree, she watched as Draco walked up to Adam’s body, binding his arms with rope, before freeing him from the curse. As Adam unfroze, he tried to fight back, but to no avail.

Draco started leading Adam down a pathway, which Adam seemed to like less and less as he realised where they were headed. Hermione followed behind them at a distance, already suspecting where they were going. Her suspicions were confirmed when they arrived at what she knew to be Adam’s family's mansion.

To avoid suspicion, Hermione stayed outside the gates of the property, watching as Draco pushed Adam up the steps. He forced the front door open, shoving him inside. She couldn’t hear what he was saying to Adam, but it couldn't have been good. All she heard was Draco’s final yell of; “You will never leave this property again!”.

Draco slammed the door shut and walked away, unknowingly towards Hermione. After he passed through the gates, he turned and cast a spell that Hermione couldn’t hear. Judging by his earlier exclamation, Hermione assumed it would make it at impossible for anyone who lived in the mansion to leave the property. Draco strode away, and Hermione looked back at the mansion for a moment, before doing the same.

~~~

For the next year, Hermione watched over Belle, while contemplating her plan to return her and Adam to each other. Belle had continued her life, not remembering Adam, which Hermione could see made her life more monotonous. Without her best and only friend, Belle turned to books, which Hermione appreciated, but she knew that Belle needed Adam. Hermione knew that she couldn’t take Adam from the mansion back to the town, because Belle didn’t remember him. He had also faded from the town’s memories, as he was never well-known, often overlooked in the town. After a few weeks people, with a rare thought of him, simply assumed he died when his parents did.

Hermione had to figure out a way for Adam and Belle to meet again, and still have the chance to fall in love. She didn’t know if Adam, even with his memories, would still be able to love at all, after being stuck on the castle grounds for over a year.

She had watched him, too. Draco’s curse surrounding the grounds only seemed to apply to muggles, as she was able to approach the mansion. Here she was able to keep an eye on Adam, and listen to some conversations his family’s staff had about him. They talked about how he had been descending slowly into madness. It was a combination of the house and the trauma of his parents’ deaths, and him not being able to see Belle, or even Maurice.

The staff also talked about Adam's many attempts to escape his grounds, some of which Hermione had witnessed herself. All attempts failed, though, as he was unable to break Draco's magical barrier. His failed escape attempts didn’t help his declining mental health, either.

After a year of this, Hermione hadn’t seen Draco again, so she decided that she needed to intervene with a new plan. She knew that Draco would still be out there, somewhere, in this timeline, so she would have to be careful. First, she had to test if Adam was still able to love.

Using an ageing potion, Hermione transformed herself into an old woman - an ‘enchantress’ named Agatha, if anyone asked. She wore a cloak, with a hood hiding most of her face, in case the potion wore off too soon. She picked a single rose, before approaching the mansion’s front door.

Hermione knocked on the door, sighing a little in relief when Adam opened the door, instead of one of his staff. “Please, sir, I’m lost and alone. All I need is shelter, for one night. Could I please stay here?”

Adam scowled at her. “No!” He yelled, “Begone, old witch!”

 _Wow, and I thought Harry was an angsty teenager,_ Hermione thought. For a moment, she also questioned how Adam knew she was a witch, before remembering that in these times, the term ‘witch’, was often just used to derogatorily describe old women.

“Do not be deceived by appearances,” Hermione warned, “For beauty is found within."

Hermione wanted nothing more than to believe that Adam was still able to love. But, after losing his parents, his only friend, who he loved, and another father figure, all within the span of a month, she could hardly blame him if he couldn’t.

“Begone, witch, leave me alone!” Hermione was able to see a hint Adam’s vulnerability in his last words, but still knew what she had to do. She had now seen that there was no love in his heart, and he would have to learn how to love when he saw Belle again.

Feeling her ageing potion wear off, Hermione shed her cloak, revealing her true self to Adam.

His eyes widened as he saw her true beauty, and a flicker of recognition crossed his eyes. Hermione knew he must have recognised the part of Belle within herself. Adam began to beg Hermione for forgiveness, but she knew it was only because he had now seen her true self.

 _I’m sorry,_ Hermione thought, before taking out her wand. She placed a powerful curse over the castle, and everyone who lived in it. Hermione had to look away as Adam screamed, turning into a beast.

Hermione wished that she didn’t have to do this whole complex curse, but it was the best way to stop Adam from trying to escape his grounds, and to stop his staff from helping him. If Adam went back to the village, and his reaction to Belle not recognising him didn’t kill him, Draco himself certainly would. Hermione could not let that happen.

When the transformation was complete, she handed him the rose, and spoke again. “This rose will bloom until your twenty-first year, and, if by the end of that year, you have not learned to love again, the curse will become permanent,”

She produced a small mirror and handed it to him. “This will be your only connection to the outside world. Ask, and it will show you what you want,” He smiled a little, she supposed at the idea of seeing Belle again. “Just remember, you have until your twenty-first birthday,”

With those words, Hermione turned and walked away, leaving her great-grandfather to see the outward manifestation of his inner turmoil.


	5. Kick It Up A Notch

For a year, Draco visited the mansion every fortnight to check that Adam was still there. The rest of the time, he hid and lived in the forest with a group of centaurs he had found.

It had been a little over a year since he had kidnapped Adam, when Draco visited, and noticed that something wasn't right. The grounds had begun to become overgrown, and it didn’t look like anyone had been outside in weeks. Adam’s staff had previously kept the grounds in order.

He thought that perhaps they had just given up, but decided to check closer anyway. When he peeked through one of the front windows, he was met with the sight of a circle of household objects, moving independently, and seemingly _talking_ to each other. When a monstrous beast entered the room, the objects - including a candlestick, a clock, a feather duster, and a tea set - stood to attention, before bowing. _What? What the hell is this?_ Draco thought.

Draco realised something, the shock of which caused him to stumble backwards. The beast and the objects were Adam and his staff. This lead to another realisation - there was another mage nearby, one who knew about his doings. What the devil was going on here? He wasn’t sure what this other witch or wizard’s plan was, or their intentions in cursing the castle, but whatever it was, he needed to kick his plan up a notch.

Returning to the colony of centaurs where he had been living, Draco started to enact the second part of his plan. Finding his wand, he used various human transfiguration spells to alter his appearance, to make himself as attractive as possible. When he had finished, he was tall, with huge muscles, a thick neck and long, black hair. He conjured himself some new clothes, transfigured a nearby badger into a majestic horse, and he was ready.

The first day he rode into town, Draco couldn’t have been more pleased with the reactions he received. His newly-created persona of ‘Gaston’, an 18-year-old who loved hunting and was looking for love in the town, was more popular than Draco himself had ever been.

Over the next four years, Draco lived in the town as Gaston. He spent his time building and maintaining a facade that made him the most popular man in the town, and the region. All the while, he tried to get as close as possible to Belle. Even though he had Adam locked away, and he was now a hideous creature, meaning that Belle certainly couldn’t love him, Draco figured giving Belle a new love interest could only be beneficial to his plan. Belle didn’t make it easy to get close to her, but Draco persisted. It also didn’t hurt that she reminded him of someone he knew long ago, and may have once had a crush on.

“Hello, Belle,” Draco, as Gaston, greeted her one morning, shortly after her seventeenth birthday.

“Bonjour Gaston,” Belle greeted. Gaston grabbed the book from her grasp, hoping she would finally pay him some attention. “Could you please give me my book back?”

“How can you read this?” Draco questioned. “There’s no pictures,”

“Well, some people use their imaginations,” Belle replied. She was reminding him more and more of that Hermione Granger and he did not like it.

“Belle, it’s about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things… like me!” Gaston threw Belle’s book into some nearby mud. “The whole town’s talking about it,” Belle picked up her book and started to clean off the mud. “It’s not right for a woman to read, soon she starts getting ideas… and thinking.”

“Gaston, you are positively primeval,” Belle stated. _A lukewarm response from Belle!_ Draco thought; _she loves me!_

“Why thank you, Belle,” he replied. “Hey, what do you say you and me take a walk over to the tavern and have a look at my hunting trophies?” If she was anything like Hermione, she would surely be impressed by his accomplishments.

“Maybe some other time,” replied Belle.

“What? That’s absurd! No one says no to-” Gaston started, but Belle had already walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's so short, also sorry if it gets confusing when I switch between saying Draco and Gaston, since they're now the same person...
> 
> Nevertheless I hope you're enjoying the story so far :)


	6. Beauty and the Beast

It had been four years since she had cursed Adam’s mansion, and Hermione was becoming concerned with the fact that Belle had not yet found Adam, or even come close. What was coming close, though, was the end of Adam’s twenty-first year - his birthday. They needed a push.

Watching Draco stride around as ‘Gaston’ was sickening to Hermione, and she hated that there was little she could do to stop him. When ‘Gaston’ first arrived in the town, it had taken Hermione less than a day to realise it was Draco. His flair for the dramatic really gave it away.

It didn’t take Hermione long to figure out a plan to push Belle towards Adam. Maurice set out one night to another inventing fair, so Hermione used some simple spells to herd a pack of wolves toward his horse. As she planned, this led him to find shelter in Adam’s mansion.

~~~

“What is that rapping at my mansion door?” The Beast growled, hearing the noise. Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts shared a look. Whenever someone showed up on the grounds, the Beast was always in a worse mood afterwards, and his mood was never good to begin with.

“I’m sure it’s no one, dear, we’ll just go and make sure they leave,” Mrs Potts reassured him. The three colleagues quickly made their way to the front room of the house, where the intruder had already let himself in.

“Hello? Hello?” The intruder called, as Mrs Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth situated themselves inconspicuously on a table near the edge of the room.

“Old fellow must have lost his way in the woods,” Lumiere whispered.

“Keep quiet! Maybe he’ll go away,” Cogsworth replied.

Mrs Potts, meanwhile, simply stared at the intruder. He looked familiar, somehow. Almost like- she gasped as the realisation hit her, louder than she intended.

“Is someone there?” The man asked.

“It’s Maurice!” Mrs Potts whispered to her colleagues. Lumiere and Cogsworth looked at the intruder again, and, having the same realisation, stared at him slack-jawed for a few seconds.

“Shh, we still can’t let him know we’re here!” Cogsworth whispered.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but I’ve lost my horse and I need a place to stay for the night,” said Maurice.

“If he stays here, Belle could come to find him! She could reunite with Master, and their true love could set us free!” Lumiere exclaimed, still in a whisper.

“But look at him, he doesn’t remember the mansion,” Cogsworth commented. “Something happened, and I’ll bet he doesn’t remember Master either. If Master realises that, he will be heartbroken… We can’t let Maurice stay,”

“Oh, listen to your heart, Cogsworth,” chided Mrs Potts.

She and Lumiere shared a look of agreement, before Lumiere spoke.

“Of course, monsieur, you are welcome here,”

“Master is going to kill us,” Cogsworth muttered.

Five minutes later, Maurice had accepted the enchanted objects, and was warming in a chair by the fireplace, drinking tea, courtesy of Mrs Potts and Chip. That was when the Beast entered.

“There is a stranger here,” the Beast growled, only seeing the back of the chair in which Maurice sat.

As Lumiere and Cogsworth stuttered through excuses, Mrs Potts was the one to say; “Maybe not so much a stranger, sir,”

Maurice, confused by the situation, turned in his chair to face the mansion’s owner. As the Beast met Maurice’s eye, his look of shock mirrored that of his guest. _Maurice_. As Maurice shrunk in his chair in fear, the Beast quickly realised that he did not remember him.

“You are not welcome here,” the Beast said, turning away.

“Master, please, he only needed a place to say,” Mrs Potts tried to reason with him.

“I’m sorry,” Maurice added.

 _He should be sorry,_ the Beast thought, _how could he not remember me, even if I am a hideous beast?_

“I’ll give you somewhere to stay,” said the Beast. He didn’t want more people, who wouldn’t even remember his human self, coming to the mansion to stare at him. At the same time, he also couldn’t bear to look at the man who used to be like a second father to him, when Maurice had no idea who he was.

And thus the Beast locked Maurice in the basement, before returning to the east wing. At the familiar sight of the rose, he collapsed on the ground, his body wracked by sobs. He slept fitfully on the ground, knowing that he soon had to accept that no one could, or would ever truly love him, nor would he truly be able to love.

The Beast had barely composed himself when, the next morning, he awoke to a small commotion in the basement. He trudged downstairs, where a group of enchanted objects had gathered, watching a figure sob before the small window into the basement.

He recognised her immediately. How could be not, after years of thinking about only her? By some miracle, Belle had found him, despite the years that had passed. He had seen her over the years, through the mirror, and knew that she likely didn’t remember him, but he still had a tiny bit of hope.

Adam placed a hand on Belle’s shoulder, turning her around. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

As Maurice called for Belle to run, she spoke three words that cut him to the core and destroyed his last shred of hope; “Who are you?”

The Beast put on a face of stone as he accepted Belle’s offer to take her father’s place. He showed her to her room, before leaving his staff to tend to her. Once again, he found himself sobbing in the east wing. He could never love again, for the only one who he had ever loved, now knew him as nothing but a monster.

~~~

Hermione thanked wizard God when she saw Belle enter Adam’s mansion. She knew it couldn’t have been on good terms, after seeing Maurice kicked out, but she again thanked wizard God that the staff remembered Belle, and knew that she and Adam should be together.

She watched through windows and from afar over the next few weeks, as they seemed to grow closer and closer together. Though Belle was becoming friends with Adam for the first time again, they seemed to share the same connection that they had before.

Hermione watched through a window as Belle and Adam began to dance together, for the first time since they’d danced as kids in the same room. They were falling in love again.


	7. It's Been A Long Time Coming

Despite his many attempts, including planning an entire wedding before even inviting Belle to be his bride, Draco - or rather, Gaston - had not yet succeeded in winning her heart. Now, in order for his plan to succeed, he was prepared to turn to less moral evil plans. He just wasn’t sure _what_ , yet.

That had been before Belle disappeared. Somehow, he knew exactly where she was, though he couldn’t let that information be known. Luckily for Gaston, though, that old coot Maurice had gone missing as well.

While he thought of a plan to accommodate these new developments, Gaston decided to lay low. So, he sat back in the tavern having a beer while Lefou, a dedicated follower he had picked up when he was new in the town, showered him with compliments. That was, until the old coot decided to burst in, yelling about how Belle had been taken by the Beast, and was now locked in the basement. Of course, this only confirmed Gaston’s suspicions, but again, he couldn’t let on that he’d already known that.

Gaston feigned confusion and concern as he thought of a plan. He still didn’t have Belle back, but now he knew for certain where she was. Plus, with Maurice out of the way, when he did have Belle back, he would have a much easier pathway to her. It was decided, then. He would get rid of Maurice.

“All right, old man. We'll help you out,” said Gaston, smirking as Maurice thanked him profusely. _Don’t speak too soon_ , he thought, as he threw Maurice out, slamming the door in his face. Besides, no matter how unlikely, he couldn’t have people start to believe that old coot. For now, he wanted to keep his involvement in this Belle and Beast business under the table.

It didn’t take Gaston long to decide that Maurice needed to be a bit further out of the picture. So, the next night, he arranged a meeting with Monsieur D’Arque, from the Asylum.

“So,” D’Arque started, after Gaston explained his situation, “You want me to throw her father in the asylum, unless she agrees to marry you?” The two men nodded in agreement. “Oh that is despicable. I love it!”

Disappointingly, neither Belle nor her father were home when Gaston and Lefou visited with D’Arque, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before they returned.

As predicted, within two days, Lefou spotted Belle return, with a very sick-looking Maurice. Five minutes after he ran to alert Gaston, D’Arque was at Belle’s door, ready to take her father away. As Maurice attempted to convince the now-gathered crowd of the Beast’s existence, Gaston sidled up to Belle.

“You know, I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if…” he started.

“If what?” Belle seemed impatient.

“If you marry me,”

“What?”

“One little word, Belle. That's all it takes.” Being married would certainly keep Belle away from that Beast character.

“Never!”

“Have it your way,” said Gaston. She was still away from the Beast, anyway. Just now with some added suffering.

Belle quickly ran into the small house and returned holding a small mirror. “My father’s not crazy and I can prove it!” She exclaimed, before speaking to the mirror; “Show me the Beast!”

Gaston’s eyes widened as the mirror produced a moving image of the beast. As Belle attempted to convince them that the Beast was not vicious, but kind and gentle, Gaston made up his mind. _Screw subtlety._

“She's as crazy as the old man,” Gaston started, grabbing the mirror from Belle’s hand. The Beast will make off with your children! He’ll come after them in the night!” The crowd immediately latched onto the idea, and Gaston continued, against Belle’s protests. “We’re not safe ‘til his head is mounted on my wall… I say we kill the beast!”

Gaston knew how powerful of a drug fear was, and within minutes, he was leading hoards of angry people, carrying pitchforks, axes and torches, as they stormed towards the castle. Breaking open the door, the hoards stepped into a silent and still parlour. But Gaston wasn’t fooled, he knew about the enchanted objects.

“Take whatever booty you can find, but remember, the Beast is mine!” He instructed.

Sure enough, after a call from what seemed to be a candlestick, a group of what should have been inanimate objects attacked the angry mob. Gaston left the mob to fight the objects, while he began to search for the Beast. Within minutes, he could hear the mob already begin to retreat, but it didn’t matter now. He had found the Beast.

Gaston raised his crossbow, as the Beast turned to face him, before looking down again sadly. _Oh, if only I pitied the monster_ , Gaston thought, before shooting him in the shoulder. The Beast screamed in agony, and stood to face his opponent, just as Gaston leapt at him, pushing them both onto the balcony. The heavy rain almost blinded Gaston as he cornered the Beast, who, to Gaston’s surprise, didn’t fight back. He simply sat, as if he had accepted his fate. _Oh well, makes my job easier._

“Get up! Get up! What's the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?” He mocked. Gaston broke off a section of the balcony, and raised it over his ready, ready to smash it over the Beast’s head.

Suddenly, a voice drifted up from the ground, yelling at him to stop. Belle. Gaston ignored her, but the Beast paid attention. “Belle,” he said, a new life coming across his eyes.

Gaston quickly swung the piece of concrete down at the Beast, but to his surprise, the Beast caught his weapon. He rose up and roared in Gaston’s face, and for the first time, he felt fearful. The two fought, until the Beast retreated, hiding among the gargoyles in the darkness.

“Come on out and fight! Were you in love with her, beast? Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me?” Gaston asked. This seemed to provoke the Beast to emerge again, and their fight continued. “It’s over, Beast. Tonight, Belle is mine!”

The Beast picked Gaston up by his neck, beginning to choke him. Gaston started to beg for his life, and thankfully, a wave of compassion seemed to flow over the Beast, causing him to let Gaston go. “Get out,” he growled, but didn’t follow through with his was order, as he was quickly distracted by Belle, calling down from a higher balcony.

As the Beast scaled the tower, Gaston followed suit, staying out of sight. As soon as the Beast was distracted by Belle, Gaston took the opportunity to swiftly grab a knife from his boot, and stab the Beast in the back. He roared in pain while Gaston ripped the knife out, swinging it at the Beast again.

The Beast started to fall, knocking Gaston off his balance. Belle reached out and held onto the Beast, leaving Gaston to fall.

As he fell, from the highest balcony of the Eastern tower, Gaston began to see his life flash before his eyes. Then he remembered; _I’m Draco freakin’ Malfoy._ He tried to grab his wand from his other boot, but it was stuck. Draco thought he was done for, dead, when he heard a female voice call out:

“Arresto momentum!”


	8. Tale As Old As Time

Hermione raised the hood of her cloak as she watched Draco fight Adam, high on the outside of the mansion. She watched as Draco lost his balance, falling from a high tower, and wondered if she should save him. He had caused her and her friends a lot of trauma and annoyance over the years.

Her internal battle was cut short, as she knew she couldn’t let someone die right in front of her like this. She used a well-timed spell to levitate him around a metre from the ground, allowing him to survive the fall. Hermione approached him as he knelt on the floor, regaining his breath after the fight.

Hermione stood above Draco, still in disguise as Gaston, her hood covering her eyes, until he looked up. “Who are you?” She didn’t reply. “I didn’t wish to kill the beast, I only wished to save Belle, and to love her!” He immediately started to make excuses. “The heart wants what it wants, and sometimes things can get a bit twisted,”

Removing her hood, Hermione allowed him to see her true identity, stunning Draco into silence.

“Hermione?” He seemed confused, which was reasonable, as Draco thought that no one but Goyle had known about his evil plan.

“Malfoy,” she greeted, a hint of disgust in her voice.

“You saved my life,” he commented, in awe. “A mudblood saved my life,” he then muttered to himself. A realisation seemed to wash over him; “It’s you! I should’ve known you were the other mage here.” Hermione simply nodded in response. He then realised that if she was here, she most likely knew about his intentions, and definitely knew what he had done. “Listen, I’m so-”

Hermione took a quick breath in. “Before you say another word, I can’t take you seriously, looking like that,” she commented honestly. With a few quick spells, Hermione returned Draco to his small blonde form.

“Granger, look, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say and I know you’ll probably never forgive me… How could you? I’ve been so awful to you over the years, and yet you still saved my life. I feel horrible,” Draco hung his head.

“Men like you never change, do they?” Hermione commented. “It’s been years since the Battle of Hogwarts, yet you would still go back in time and keep an innocent couple apart, so I would never be born? Just so Harry would die and Voldemort would live?” Hermione raised her voice. Even after almost five years, Ginny’s explanation of Draco’s plan was forever engraved into Hermione’s mind.

Draco’s hadn’t looked up, and instead seemed very interested in the tall grass in front of him. Hermione wondered whether his remorse was sincere, and momentarily wished she had brewed some Veritaserum. That could have proven his regret to her.

“Please, tell me the truth,” Hermione said quietly. “Do you even feel any remorse, at all?”

Draco looked up, his eyes meeting Hermione’s intense gaze. “Yes,” he answered truthfully. “It is exceptionally lonely, being Draco Malfoy. I was alone for so many years after the war that the idea of bringing Lord Voldemort back consumed my thoughts. Those thoughts blinded me, and forced me to act like a maniac,” he confessed.

“But why me?” Hermione asked in a small voice.

“You were always the smart one, helping Harry in his fights against Voldemort, and in school generally. You, Harry, and Ron… I envied you those friendships more than anything else. And-” Draco stopped himself, looking down again. He took a deep breath before continuing; “Throughout my life, all I ever wanted was for someone to love me,” he confessed. “My parents never did, nor did anyone at school. They barely tolerated me. Then, after the Battle, everyone hated me, and I was forced away from the dark side. No one would even talk to me, apart from Goyle. I guess I was just,” he hesitated; “Jealous.” Draco hung his head again.

Despite the logical voice that told Hermione that Draco could be lying, her heart told her to pity him. He could, after all, be telling the truth.

Hermione took a deep breath before speaking; “I cannot let you win, you snobbish, evil brat. But fine, say I believe you. What happens now?”

Draco looked up. “Well…” he trailed off. He felt in his pocket, but was visibly surprised when he found nothing. He looked around frantically, brushing through the tall grass around him.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“My time turner, it must have fallen out of my pocket when I fell, now I can’t find it,” he replied, still searching frantically through the grass.

“Good thing you weren’t sorted into Hufflepuff then,” Hermione laughed. “Don’t worry, you can use mine,” Hearing Hermione’s words, Draco paused his search, standing up.

“Really?” He almost couldn’t believe the compassion he was being shown.

“Yes,” she confirmed. When Draco started to look too happy, she added; “As long as you return Belle’s memories to me, and Maurice’s too. All I need is the two vials, then you can come back with me,”

Draco thought for a second, before agreeing. His original goal was to make sure Hermione was never born, and now she had saved his life, even knowing his intentions. The whole situation made him feel terrible, and he wanted to rectify it as much as possible, by helping Hermione. He took the two vials out of his pocket, handing them to her.

Hermione slipped the vials into her pocket for later. “There’s just one thing I have to do first. Wait here,” she instructed Draco.

~~~~

Hermione entered the mansion and walked up to where Belle and Adam lay in his chambers. She watched them for a second, their true love visible, before raising her wand.

Gold sparks erupted from Hermione’s wand and encased the Beast, raising him into the sky. As he was transformed, the entire mansion became surrounded in gold. Within a minute, the transformation was complete. After Belle and Adam embraced, they turned to Hermione.

“Who are you?” Belle asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Hermione. “What does matter, is this,”

Hermione opened the vial of memories, and watched them drift back to Belle, where they belonged. Once they reached her, she blinked a few times in confusion, then recognition.

“Adam?” She asked. Hermione and Adam sighed simultaneously, relieved that Belle seemed to have her memories back.

“Belle? You know me?” Adam asked, in bewilderment. “You remember me, from before?”

“Adam!” Belle breathed in reply, half-laughing. They quickly embraced in a tight hug, attempting to exchange all of the feelings that they had missed over the last five years. In their reunion, they didn’t notice Hermione slip away into the darkness.

“Why didn’t you fight?” Belle asked, pulling away from Adam. “You could’ve beaten Gaston, right at the start,”

“I…” Adam started, before looking down. “I didn’t want to fight.” Belle looked at him expectantly, so he continued; “I didn’t want to, because, without you, I had nothing to fight for,”

~~~

Half an hour later, Belle returned to her room in the mansion, where the cloaked Hermione stood, looking out the window.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Hermione turned around to the sound of Belle’s voice. “You returned my memories, and broke the curse too, didn’t you?”

Hermione nodded slowly, and looked up. As their eyes met, Belle gasped in shock, presumably at their resemblance.

“How?” Belle managed to stutter out.

“There is magic you don’t understand at work here,” said Hermione, trying to be as vague as possible.

“Well, I definitely owe my life to you,” Belle started, only barely able to process what she had been told. “What can I give you in return for you breaking the curse?”

Hermione thought for a second, before responding. “Just, remember this moment. Tell your children, and let them tell their children, so that your family will always appreciate witches and wizards. Someday, when a little girl gets a letter from a wizarding school, her mother will remember a story passed down through generations. Then, she’ll smile, thinking that her little girl could help people, how an enchantress once helped her great-grandmother.”

“Of course,”

“And remember, always have courage, and be kind.”

And with those final words, Hermione walked away, smiling to herself, knowing that her job was done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the last chapter! There will be an epilogue tomorrow, but it's pretty short. Hope you enjoyed it :)


	9. Epilogue: Evermore

“Are you ready to go?” Hermione asked. She had restored Maurice’s memories, and was now reunited with Draco.

Draco looked at Hermione, resigned to the deal he had made with her. “Definitely, let’s get out of this wretched time,”

With Draco’s confirmation, Hermione began to spin the time turner, the other way this time.

The world that had become so familiar to them turned into a blur, and within a few dizzying seconds, Hermione and Draco appeared in her apartment. It was as if Hermione had never left.

Ron, whose gaze had never left the space where Hermione had left from, immediately ran forward to hug her. In their time, she had only been gone a second, but in Ron’s mind, it had been an eternity. To Hermione, it really had been an eternity.

Draco, feeling immediately uncomfortable, lifted the time turner over both his and Hermione’s heads, and started towards the door. Before he could get there, though, he was stopped by Harry.

“Malfoy,”

“Potter,”

“Not so fast, Malfoy,” Ginny interrupted their glaring contest. “You can leave when we know every detail of what happened,” she chided. “Just, in a moment,” she looked towards Ron, who was still holding Hermione in his arms.

“I was so scared you wouldn’t come back,” Ron whispered.

“Wow, Ron, all these years later and you still underestimate me,” Hermione chuckled softly. She smiled, knowing that they would be able to return to normal.

When they finally pulled apart, Hermione hugged Harry, and then Ginny. “Thank you,” she whispered to Ginny. “Without you, I wouldn’t be here right now,”

“No, thank you,” Ginny echoed sincerely. “Without you, Voldemort probably would have lived, and a lot more innocent people would be dead,”

After they embraced, Ginny directed Draco to the lounge, followed by the others. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down on the middle couch, Ron placing his arms protectively around Hermione. Hermione gladly relaxed into his arms, knowing that she was finally home. Ginny and Draco sat in single chairs at opposite ends of the couch, Ginny leading the interrogation. She questioned both Hermione and Draco, wanting to get the whole picture of what happened.

“Let’s start with this; How long were you there?” Ginny asked.

“Five years,” Draco answered. He seemed willing to comply with Ginny’s interrogation, which seemed fair enough proof to Hermione that he would stand by his word.

Between Ginny, Draco and Hermione, with Harry and Ron acting as buffers, the interrogation was wrapping up within the hour.

“...I had a conversation with Belle, before going back to the town to restore Maurice’s memories. Then, I met back up with Draco, and now we’re here,” Hermione finally finished.

“So, what do we do with Draco then?” Harry asked, still a little confused. “Do we report him and send him to Azkaban?”

“We let him go,” Hermione replied simply. Her friends chorused a series of ‘what?’s and ‘why?’s, as Draco gave her a sad, but appreciative, smile.

“I have a feeling that he won’t be bothering us any more,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Thanks for reading if you got through the whole thing :)


End file.
